Non-contact IC card and IC card communication system

Abstract

A non-contact IC card comprises: a substantially rectangular insulating substrate; a semiconductor chip mounted on a first face of the insulating substrate; and an antenna coil for transmitting information and for enhancing the mechanical strength of the insulating substrate, the antenna coil being arranged on the first face of the insulating substrate along the outer periphery of the first face, and the antenna coil having first and second connecting terminals which are connected to the semiconductor chip. Thus, it is possible to provide a non-contact IC card capable of enhancing the connection reliability of an IC chip mounting portion, maintaining communication characteristics, and maintaining a high mechanical strength.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates generally to a non-contact IC card wherein a semiconductor memory device is used as an IC chip. More specifically, the invention relates to the structure of an antenna coil which is formed in a non-contact IC card. The present invention is used for, e.g., a credit card or a commodity tag.2. Related Background ArtFIG. 9 is a plan view of a conventional non-contact IC card, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the non-contact IC card taken along line A-A' of FIG. 9. A quadrangular insulating substrate 1 to be an IC card substrate is made of a synthetic resin, such as a polyimide resin or an epoxy resin. The shape of the insulating substrate 1 is like a card about 5.5 by about 8.5 millimeters. An elliptical antenna coil 2 of copper or aluminum is bonded to the central portion of the major surface of the insulating substrate 1 by means of an adhesive 6. An IC chip 4 is formed at a suitable position outside o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the aforementioned problems and to provide a non-contact IC card capable of enhancing the connection reliability of an IC chip mounting portion, maintaining communication characteristics, and maintaining a high mechanical strength, and a communication system using the same.

In order to accomplish the aforementioned and other objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, a non-contact IC card comprises: a substantially rectangular insulating substrate; a semiconductor chip mounted on a first face of the insulating substrate; and an antenna coil for transmitting information and for enhancing the mechanical strength of the insulating substrate, the antenna coil being arranged on the first face of the insulating substrate along the outer periphery of the first face, and the antenna coil having first and second connecting terminals which are connected to the semiconductor chip.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an IC card communication system comprises a non-contact IC card and a reader / writer, the non-contact IC card comprising: a substantially rectangular insulating substrate; a semiconductor chip mounted on a first face of the insulating substrate; and an antenna coil for transmitting information and for enhancing the mechanical strength of the insulating substrate, the antenna coil being arranged on the first face of the insulating substrate along the outer periphery of the first face, and the antenna coil having first and second connecting terminals which are connected to the semiconductor chip, and the non-contact IC card transmitting signals from and to the reader / writer via the antenna coil by the electromagnetic induction.

Problems solved by technology

However, if the conductor is made of a soft material, such as Al foil or Ag paste, the bump is embedded into the conductor, so that the distance between the substrate and the IC chip can not be controlled by using the Au bump.

However, in general, it is very difficult for such a card to maintain a high mechanical strength.

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